An encouraging light read on the theme of Christian transformation.
Three friends seek out new lives in Poydence’s debut religious chick-lit novel.
Casey Swanson, Eliz Wilding and Amana Anne Moore are three friends whose lives reach a crossroads. Casey is unappreciated by her husband and two sons. Eliz’s reckless, booze-filled lifestyle reaches a critical point when she loses her job. Amana Anne, a widow, has closed her heart to romance and God’s plan for her. One day, Amana Anne encourages Casey and Eliz to join her on a spiritual adventure to get a “new life.” That same day, Casey listens to the voice of God telling her “This is the day” and spontaneously heads off on a weeklong mission trip. Eliz has a reckless tumble that nearly kills her, and she decides to try following God for the first time in her life. Amana Anne falls in love at first sight with the handsome Jake Sandstone while simultaneously trying to let God lead her toward a career as a motivational writer and speaker. Each of the three women is at a different point of her life and faith. Many Christian readers may relate to one or all of these stages, and the transitions between characters are always smoothly managed. The events that lead Casey to the mission trip, Eliz to God and away from the bottle, and Amana Anne to Jake are all a little too coincidental. For instance, Casey just happened to have a “getaway bag” in her car when her pastor announced a sudden opening for the mission trip, and Amana Anne’s professional advancement occurs faster than would usually be possible, but this may only bother more skeptical readers. Overall, the changes the main characters undergo may surprise, but they still inspire.
An encouraging light read on the theme of Christian transformation.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988486706
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Anything's Possible Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
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